


And That's the Wrong Answer, Alex.

by CelticGHardy



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen, I haven't seen 1 in ages, Set between season 1 and 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2015-12-09
Packaged: 2018-05-05 18:29:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5385989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelticGHardy/pseuds/CelticGHardy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ezekiel's Clipbook App sends him on a search for an item was worn by 'Interrogation Experts.' </p><p> </p><p>  <span class="small"><br/>    <span class="small"><br/>      <i>This might be helpful.</i><br/>    </span><br/>  </span></p>
            </blockquote>





	And That's the Wrong Answer, Alex.

**Author's Note:**

> Kinda meant to be a fill for HC Bingo, but I have one, maybe two other prompts done and they're not even in the same row or column. I don't think I'm turning in anything this year.
> 
> Also, first time writing for this fandom.
> 
> Edit: Whoops, I forgot something.

The Clipbook App started buzzing as soon as Ezekiel almost made it to his bed. He groaned, “Come on. You could not have known I would be this close.” He pulled out his phone and brought up two articles published by the same paper, and happening in the same city. “Okay. 'Fifth Victim of the Branding Serial Killer Found Near Old Store.' Nope,” he said, switching, “'Items Stolen From Exhibit.' Now that's more my style.” The article reported that out of a historic collection that contained many expensive items, a plain bracelet, some type of thin sword and branding symbol were stolen. “What is the thin sword for magical artifact, Alex?” Checking the state of his clothes, he muttered about changing and showers before heading to the bathroom.

Madison, Wisconsin was not the busiest that he imagined. Of course, he was used to New York and cities of the sort. Madison was a city, but it wasn't a 'city'. The exhibit that he read about was unusual for the area. _Wouldn't this be the type of place that would have 'History of Cheeses' or a 'Green Bay Packers' type of museum?_ “'A History of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques From the Earliest Years.' Doesn't that sound fascinating?” A chill went through him and he shuddered. “And completely washed to please the American people.”

The museum was moderately busy for the day. Not surprising, the theft had brought more people in. There was a tour group halfway through the museum and he decided to tag along. The traveling exhibit was still on their tour, which Ezekiel was surprised about. “Now, I'm sure several of you heard about the theft of three items last week. The bracelet is roughly seven to eight hundred years old. It was first linked to an unnamed Executioner during King Phillip the First's last days. With the rise of the next king, the figure was promoted to the Interrogation Circle. Information was lost after that as the King had many friends that wanted to erase most of the acts the man had committed in order to protect his image,” the guide lectured.

“Why doesn't the Executioner have a name?” someone in the group asked.

She smiled, “Executioners were a dime a dozen. Each town had one. Cities had two or three. Notorious ones, those that held several public executions, or multiples, or those that executed famous individuals, their names were recorded. Others weren't, or their records were wiped, destroyed or lost due to improper keeping. They weren't important enough to be remembered.” Clapping her hands a bit, she moved onto the next item. “The branding symbol is one of the oldest surviving from the Roman Empire. Robbers, thieves, they would be branded with this symbol.” The last thing was the sword, which many people wanted to know about. The crowd was silently buzzing with excitement. It would have been the perfect time for Ezekiel to relieve people of their wallets. Maybe a watch or two. Colonel Baird warned him about pickpocketing without previous approval. He did not need to be grounded again.

Yes, he, Ezekiel Jones, master thief, had been grounded.

“The Espada Ropera was favored by the Spanish citizens in the early fifteenth century,” the lecturer continued, breaking his thoughts, “The light weight, along with the size, meant that there were hundreds of these blades around. These were more often dress blades. They would work, but it was meant more as a fashion statement for people. This one made its way into the hands of Interrogation Experts. They favored the feel of the blade over other knives of the time. Its size and shape also made it easier to pierce, which was more antagonizing to the victim.” _Thin usually also means easier to hide._ Ezekiel didn't have to think about that too deeply. “This went on until the late eighteen hundreds. There are a few journals and biographies that reported that it was used after. Officially, it was retired, kept in the private collection of an army family. They've recently allowed it out for shows. So, if you know where it is, could you let the police know so they get it back to us and we return it to them?”

The group moved onto the next set of rooms, but Ezekiel needed more information on the stolen items. Hiding had its advantages and he waited until they moved on before getting closer to the displays to read their placards. Most of it was just repeating what she told them, with specific dates and more names. Best part, there were pictures. He quickly used his camera to get the info and pictures down so that way he could get more on who would take it. _Probably someone that doesn't agree with 'Enhanced Interrogation Techniques.' Honestly, tell it how it was._ He now needed info on who stole it. Should be easy. Get into the room where they had the surveillance equipment and get to the time where it was stolen. Watch and figure out who the thief was, and considering the alarms hadn't gone off, it might be someone on the staff. _No alarms don't mean it's inside. Always a good guess though._ Museum employees were usually not paid well, but most people in the economy weren't these days. So many willing to help a thief if it meant getting some extra dollars for life expenses.

Daylight did not mean busy to these people. There was only one guard, but two seats, which meant that the other was off on a quick break. He found an empty office and quickly hacked his way through a password screen. From there, he could get into the security system and its cameras. Planning his attack, Ezekiel paused as he realized he shouldn't have been able to do that. The security cameras should have been self contained to the other room. Why did this computer have a connection to the cameras?

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” a voice demanded.

Ezekiel shot up when he saw a middle aged man, wearing a business suit with a grumpy face. _Ah, the executive look for those that can't actually afford it. Suit off the rack, ten dollar tie, horrible combover._ The man didn't have balding, but he styled his hair as if he were hiding a spot. Made him look ridiculous. “Oh, right, sorry, visiting tech. Don't have my badge on. Someone was mentioning holes in your, the museums, security firewall. Testing all computers to see where it got in and plugging it up with a couple of patches,” he lied. Techs, as he had come to find out, have a good amount of leeway. People don't question computer techs too much. Most people knew about malware and virus scanners to prevent things from getting in, but actually repairing their computers was still out of their reaches. Most companies had someone inside or hired from the outside. It was the best bet other than janitors or secretaries. Busy rich people didn't have the time to remember all their 'low level' employees.

“No one's told me about it,” he said.

Ezekiel rolled his eyes, getting into the system, finding the time that would have been prime to steal the artifacts and sending the video to his Annex computer. He also found a bonus video and sent that to himself as well. “I've gotten that from about two to three others. Seriously, don't you people send out memos to each other?” he quipped, “It would save people a lot of headaches.” He tapped out a couple of commands that exited him out of the account. “Don't do any unruly messing with your computer. There's something working that I've also got on the others as well. It'll root out the problem and patch it up afterward.” He straightened up and made to walk out past him. The man didn't move. “Um, excuse me?” he tried. “Need to get to another computer.”

“I can't stand liars,” the man stated. Ezekiel was about to question that when a hand closed around his throat and pushed him against the wall. _Not good. Not good._ Both of his hands came up to try prying his away. Wasn't working, at all. Looking down, he saw a glimmer of gold on the man's wrist. _Not the sword. The bracelet. Shit, the bracelet!_ His mouth opened automatically and the other hand covered it. “I very much cannot stand liars. You will be punished later.” _I thought I was being punished now._ Without air, black spots started to form and consciousness left his body.

~~~

Jake had been back for about thirty minutes when the Back Door activated on the other side and out popped Flynn and Eve. “Hey. How was Prague?” he asked, leaning back from a manuscript that had caught his eye about a week ago.

“Great,” Flynn grinned, bringing out an old plate. “From the Last Supper of Christ. I think it was supposed to be Peter's. Never did have a clear description.” He went off muttering about identifying features while walking up to the Library's entrance.

Eve had stayed behind. “Yes, great. Except for the fanatics that were also after it. Several were Christians that wanted to use it to perform miracles. Others were 'Christians' that wanted to use it to profit. Others were ones that wanted to keep it hidden,” she panned, “That third option only sounds great. They were planning on killing anyone that knew about the existence of the plate. And also some other things. I can't remember everything the guy was yelling.”

Yep, normal sounding adventure for the Librarian and his Guardian.

Reading the manuscript became interesting again until something pinged at the same time the large Clipbook glowed. “New case?” Jake asked, going over to the book. Eve went to the source of the pinging instead, the large monitor that was set up to send and receive files from the group. “Uh?”

“Checking to see what it is,” she said, clicking a few keys to figure out what was happening. “Jones uploaded a security video from a museum along with another copy.”

Jake nodded, “Probably the one that's listed in here. Madison, Wisconsin, they had three things stolen from a traveling collection of torture devices. They've also had a serial killer stalking the city.” The old clipping that had been given to Ezekiel was next to a new one about the sixth victim.

“Serial killer?” She moved over after giving the first video a quick glance through. Her eyes picked out the details. Tortured, branded. _Branding's unusual for a serial killer._ Then she traveled to the stolen items that were listed. _A branding item? Damn it, Jones._ “He didn't read the other article. Jones only focused on the stolen items. The serial killer stole the other items and is using them on his victims.”

“So, the Library's saying he got himself kidnapped by the serial killer and someone needs to bail him out?” Jake thought aloud. _That's exactly what the Library's saying._ Eve remembered the other FBI file. Likely the Library knew it as well. She went back over to the computer and started the second video. Jake joined as well to watch. 

This started out as well as the other. Empty, except for a guard walking around to check and make sure nothing was wrong. At two fifty-nine, another figure came on the screen. Business suit, briefcase. Not the average sneaking thief. He disabled the alarm and reached in to grab the bracelet. Cameras caught what a normal human eye usually couldn't and a shadowy mist of magic fed into the man from the bracelet. Instead of hiding it, he placed it on. More and more slipped into him before his body appeared as a person in shrouds on camera. The ropera and the brand were the other things he grabbed before closing and reactivating it.

“Matthew Roderick is the assistant director of the museum,” Jake informed, finding a match to the staff. On his own computer, he had looked up the museum and its people. The guy's smiling face was next to a small bio on his credentials and work. “Been there for ten years. MA from Brown, working on a second Master's in a similar subject. He was the one that managed to get the collection shown at the museum.”

Eve switched out of the video and started doing a search through a couple of criminal databases. “No criminal history. A couple of paid parking tickets and one bad driving ticket. Nothing to indicate,” she noted, tailing off with her last thought.

Jake half-nodded. He's not entirely sure what she was leading off into, but it couldn't be good. “Skip the trip to the museum and head to the guy's house instead?” he figured.

She shook her head, searching more into the guy. “If he's kidnapping people, torturing and killing them, he's likely not hiding them at his house. Not unless he's in the country. No, he likely has an abandoned area for his victims,” she noted, doing some searching until she found what she needed. “There's a few warehouses that were left to rot during the recession.”

“Any cameras?”

“No. We're going to have to do this on foot.” She showed him coordinates for a door and they set the Back Door before leaving a note. Eve made sure she had an extra clip before following along.

~~

Ezekiel woke up with a painful headache. The events of what happened to gain that came back up quickly and he stopped himself from panicking. Immediately, he started cataloging that one, his hands were zip-tied in front of him, _amateur_ , two, the guy was smarter to gag him, and three, he was in the trunk of a car. That was driving. Not focusing on the headache, he started feeling around for a release. Newer cars were required to get them and he's been in a few to know where they usually were set. This one had an indent where it was supposed to be, and it was empty. _Okay, not good. The guy's done this before. The serial killer. Oh, that's why I also got that one. Warning article. Great._

Since escaping without notice wasn't going to happen this time, he would have to go on a different approach. It was several more minutes before the car started slowing down. _Okay. Ready, ready._ The trunk opened and he kicked out. 

His legs were caught before they hit anything.

 _Okay, this guy really has done this before._ Dragging him out of the trunk, he looked around to see himself in a warehouse, stripped down of important equipment but not of fixtures. A generator was hooked up to a couple of lights, illuminating a grisly scene. Blood was splattered all over the floor, with newer spots next to a hanging, still bleeding, and breathing male body. _Shit._ He was forced over to a second area similar to the one occupied, his bound hands attached to a chain and pulled up into position. A chain also went around his legs, securing him into place. _Wow, great. He could give the Brotherhood pointers._

The man undid his jacket, setting it aside before placing on a poncho that had seen its better days weeks ago. Next, he turned on a portable gas grill and heated up the stolen brand. “You were charged with the crime of lying,” he droned. Ezekiel watched in horror as it glowed red, which he deemed ready. “You admitted your crime and will now bare the mark of your kind.” Careful of his own hands, he brought it up and pressed it against the bicep of his victim. The only sound was a small moan, from a man broken by pain. He then sat the brand down before picking up the sword. “And your punishment.” It quickly penetrated through the ribs, and slid out with blood following behind.

In horror, he watched the man's older victim die. _This is when Colonel Baird comes barging in. This is when she comes barging in, screaming at me but pointing a gun at him and ordering him to get away._ Then the guy was cleaning the sword and he was starting to panic when he proceeded to come at him. _Um, Baird? Colonel? Eve!_ The tip started digging into his left side and he gritted his teeth on the gag.

Something hit the side of his head and he dropped the sword, letting it fall out of Ezekiel's side. Jake was holding a plank of slightly rotten wood like a cricket bat. “Give Baird a minute, she's unwinding the other end,” he said, dropping the plank and waiting. A few seconds later, he was falling forward as the chain went slack and his legs refused to hold him up along with dealing with the gash in his side. Jake caught him, controlled his descent into the ground so he could sit instead of lie awkwardly. A knife cut the gag and the ties.

“Finally,” he whispered, rubbing his wrists. The chains were undone by Eve. Said woman then started lifting his shirt. “Colonel Baird, I'm flattered, but really,” he said.

She cut him off, “Quiet, Jones.” The cut hadn't elongated, but the short sword had gone about two inches deep. Better than she thought it was. “Stone, help him up. Get him back through the door and to the medical room. I'll take care of things here.”

“Wait,” Ezekiel said, “What about the bracelet? Can't touch it, and if it's gone, they're going to be curious that only two things were found.”

“Hopefully, they'll be more worried over the fact the man is a serial killer,” Jake commented. Eve wore thick gloves, grimacing as she touched it and worked it off before dropping it in a bag. Satisfied, the older man lifted up the younger one and walked him back to the Annex, the woman calling the police and leaving an anonymous tip after erasing the younger man's presence and following behind.

**Author's Note:**

> HC Prompt - Serial killers
> 
> I made up the bracelet, since a lot of jewelry cannot last 600+ years without something happening to it. Metal warps, gems are taken, changed. Things get lost, broken down for something else. The oldest known jewelry piece is apparently a 40000 year old stone bracelet. The sword, I was trying to look up thin blades that weren't fencing types. Stuff that would have been used in reality applications instead of in a sport. That's the closest. The brand is based on unreliable Wiki information about Roman Empire branding.
> 
> Oh, and um, thanks for reading.


End file.
